The Sandwich Story

The Power of a Sandwich

Lance® has been making sandwiches for Over 100 years because they know sandwiches mean more. sandwiches mean more substance to power you through the morning, day and night. Sandwiches mean more flavors. sandwiches mean more “real.” They are not some invented snack. They are tried and true. Sandwiches mean more because they are more.

We celebrate the power of the sandwich. We revel in its form. Owning this celebration of the sandwich form elevates us above the snacking crowd into a place that is more befitting, more sandwich-worthy. You see, we don’t look at a sandwich as two pieces of something, with another kind of thing in the middle. No. at Lance® a sandwich is two awesomes with an incredible in the middle.

Our Sandwich Makers

Meet Deborah Anderson

I've Been With Lance For: 26 Years

What I Do: I work on coming up with new varieties of crackers so we can keep you coming back for more of the incredibly delicious sandwich crackers!

My Favorite Sandwich: Nekot

The Awesome Part Of My Job: Going to the store and seeing something that I have developed on the shelf or in a consumer’s cart.

Meet Glenn Machen

I've Been With Lance For: 33 Years

What I Do: I’m responsible for planning how many truckloads of flour, sugar and oil used each day.

My Favorite Sandwich: Nekot Lemon

The Awesome Part Of My Job: Working with my peers.

Meet Janice Blakeney

I've Been With Lance For: 40 Years

What I Do: Team Leader.

My Favorite Sandwich: Nekot

The Awesome Part Of My Job: Relationship with my team so we can have fun and hold each other accountable to make a safe, quality product.

Meet Cedric Thornton

I've Been With Lance For: 12 Years

What I Do: Mixing the dough.

My Favorite Sandwich: Toastchee

The Awesome Part Of My Job: The people I work with.

Meet Teresa Taylor

I've Been With Lance For: 27 Years

What I Do: Quality improvement supervisor.

My Favorite Sandwich: Peanut Butter Nekot

The Awesome Part Of My Job: Making sure we produce good quality products for our customers.

Meet Kevin Possinger

I've Been With Lance For: 30 Years

What I Do: Making sure the filler is made correct to put in between the crackers.

My Favorite Sandwich: Toasty

The Awesome Part Of My Job: Working with all the different people and taking care of them.

Meet Mala Men

I've Been With Lance For: 15 Years

What I Do: Making sure the cookie or cracker dough goes into the oven properly.

My Favorite Sandwich: Sour Cream Chives

The Awesome Part Of My Job: My co-workers, they keep the job fun.

Meet Richelene Moore

I've Been With Lance For: 30 Years

What I Do: Packaging machine operator, making sure we send out a safe, quality good delicious cracker/cookie.

My Favorite Sandwich: ToastChee

The Awesome Part Of My Job: Making our customers happy by sending out the best, safe, quality, clean product and working with a great team.

1913

Philip L. Lance, a Charlotte food broker, gets stuck with 500 pounds of raw peanuts. Instead of backing out of his deal, Lance has a revelation: roast and sell the nuts for a nickel a bag. The freshly roasted peanuts were an immediate success and Lance was inspired to expand his line to include peanut butter.

1915

Lance’s son-in-law, Salem Van Every, becomes a partner. Around this time, Lance’s wife Mary, and their two daughters spread Lance’s peanut butter between two crackers and the now famous peanut butter cracker sandwich was born.

1922

The Lance sales force grows from a single salesman, James H. Wilson, to a team of 11 men handling sales in the Carolinas.

1926

Salem Van Every takes control of the business and the company officially comes Lance Packaging Company.

1935

Despite the nation’s virtually paralyzed economy during the Depression, Lance continues to grow and prosper, recording its first million-dollar sales year.

1938

A classic is born. Lance begins baking its own crackers and soon after, introduces Toastchee.

1987

1990

Adapting to change. Lance continues to adapt to new technology, a changing business environment and changing consumer tastes, resulting in improved operating efficiencies, greater innovation and exciting new factors.